When in England, visit 'Harry Potter's' haunts

Schoolchildren walk through the Cloisters at Gloucester Cathedral in Gloucester, England"Hogwarts" to fans of the "Harry Potter" films.

Schoolchildren walk through the Cloisters at Gloucester Cathedral in Gloucester, England"Hogwarts" to fans of the "Harry Potter" films. (Photo by Graham Barclay/BWP Media/Getty Images)

Jay ClarkeKnight Ridder Newspapers

Remember when Professor Dumbledore discovers Harry Potter sitting bemused before the magical Mirror of Erised in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," the first of the wildly popular movies of the series?

That scene was filmed here in the former chapter house of the Lacock Abbey cloisters. Two other rooms in the cloisters were used as movie classrooms, and a nearby house was seen as the site where Harry's parents were killed by Lord Voldemort.

Lacock is one of a number of Potter filming locales in England and Scotland that have become tourist attractions since the release of the movies--and are expected to get renewed attention with the recent release of the fifth book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."

While the filming sites are scattered around the country, several are easily accessible to visitors based in London. The abbey here, the cloisters in Gloucester Cathedral and the dining hall at Christ Church College in Oxford are less than two hours by car or train from the British capital--and all are well worth a visit for reasons unrelated to Harry's celluloid wizardry.

Gloucester

Several important scenes were filmed in Gloucester Cathedral's famed cloisters, which are known for their exquisite fan vaulting. They also cloak visitors who know the Potter films with an eerie sense of foreboding, a feeling that they might run into Harry, Ron or Hermione--or worse, he-who-must-not-be-named.

Among the scenes shot here is one from the second movie, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," where a Hogwarts passage is flooded and writing in blood is seen on the walls. A temporary floor was built for the flooding, and the writing on the wall was superimposed electronically, so no damage was done to the structures.

Another scene shot in the cloisters was the entrance to the quarters of the Gryffindor students, reached after giving a password to the Fat Lady in the painting that covered the door. A smaller door was constructed, and since the entryway leads to steps that descend to the outside, the filmmakers built a platform above the stairs so it would appear the students walked straight into a long passage.

"They also blocked out ecclesiastic scenes in the stained glass windows with film, so that the windows admitted light but not the pictures," said Tony Higgs, chapter steward (chief administrator) of the cathedral.

None of the filming was done in the Gothic cathedral itself, whose 225-foot-high tower crowned with tall corner turrets soars above the city. Inside is a magnificent choir lined with medieval misericords, faced at one end with the 72-foot-high Great East Window, the largest stained-glass window in Britain. King Henry III had his first coronation here and several British kings and nobles are buried in the church.

Elsewhere in Gloucester, visitors can see the historic Gloucester Docks, now home to several museums, offices and restaurants, and roam the shop-lined, pedestrian-only portion of Westgate Street a block from the cathedral.

Oxford

Christ Church College is the oldest and best known of the 39 colleges in this city. Several memorable scenes in the Potter movies were shot there on the grand staircase leading to the college's huge dining hall.

In the first movie, Potter and other new Hogwarts students march up the stairs to be greeted by Professor McGonagall. In the second movie, Potter meets the malevolent Tom Marvolo Riddle there.

The dining hall itself, which seats 300, was used as a model for the one in the movies. Oxford students sit at three rows of tables that run the length of the hall, but the Potter storyline called for four rows of long wooden tables, one for each of Hogwarts' four houses. So an exact but larger replica of Oxford's hall was built in the Leavesden Studios north of London.

Still, visitors who have seen the Potter movies find the Oxford dining hall's interior intensely familiar. There's a head table where Dumbledore and the other professors sit in the movie. Table lamps glow at the place settings, and there are portraits on the walls, though the persons portrayed in them, unlike those in the movie, do not move.

Around 800 meals a day are served in the hall, including two dinner seatings. One is casual, the other formal (school robes and gowns required), and students can choose whichever they prefer. The paintings include portraits of six British prime ministers who were educated at Oxford, as well as of Charles Dodgson, who wrote "Alice in Wonderland" under the pen name of Lewis Carroll.

Christ Church College also is the site of Oxford's Cathedral, which has seen much history. Two British monarchs lived at various times in the deanery attached to the cathedral.

The quadrangle on which the great dining hall is situated is the largest in Oxford, and the most distinguished. Started in 1524 by Cardinal Wolsey and completed by Henry VIII, the quad also is known for the Big Tom tower added by famed architect Christopher Wren.

Inside the cathedral, one of the most interesting structures is the Watching Loft, where monks used to spy on parishioners to make sure no one made off with offerings left below. Parts of the Potter films also were shot in the Bodleian Library and Divinity School off Catte Street in the city's historic core. The library's staircases were the model for the ones that moved in the movies, and hospital scenes took place in the Divinity School.

London

Probably the best known Potter filming site in the city is at King's Cross train station. That's where Harry and his pal Ron reach Platform 9-3/4 by ramming their wheeled luggage carts through a brick wall. The station's real arched wall is located about a third of the way down between Platforms 4 and 5.

The scene where Harry gets money from his parents' vault in Gringott's Bank was shot in the Australian High Commission building on The Strand.

Visitors aren't permitted in the building unless on official business, but they can view the lobby floor where the scene was filmed from the entrance on Melbourne Place. The gnomes who staffed the teller cages are gone, but the intricately designed marble floors, columns and chandeliers all are visible from the same perspective as the movie's.

The Reptile House at the London Zoo was where Harry talked to a python and caused his cousin to fall into the snake cage. It's near Regent's Park in northern London.

Other sites

Exterior shots of Hogwarts School and of the quidditch matches were made in the north of England at Alnwick Castle, whose many turrets create a dramatic backdrop. The castle, owned by the Duke of Northumberland, is open to visitors in spring and summer.

Scenes in the first two movies of the Hogwarts Express, the old-time steam train that Harry and other students take to the wizardry school, were made on a scenic train that chugs between Pickering and Grosmont in North York Moors National Park. The film's Hogsmeade Station is actually at Goathland, a town on the train route.

Near London, a suburban road called Picket Post Close in the little town of Bracknell depicted the home of the Dursleys, Harry's aunt and uncle. In the movie, the road is called Privet Drive.

Current filming

Shooting for the third movie, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," is taking place mainly in closed sets at Leavesden Studios (no visitors) and in Scotland. Earlier this year, scenes involving the purple Knight bus that Harry takes to escape from the Dursleys were shot at and around Palmers Green, a residential area in North London.

In Scotland, most of the filming, which started in May, is taking place around Glencoe. According to London's News of the World newspaper, Hagrid's hexagonal hut has been built on a hillside near Torren, Argyll, along with a turreted gatehouse and 18-foot-high polystyrene boulders.

As in London, some of the filming has hit minor roadblocks. In February, sparks from the Hogwarts Express apparently set a fire that burned 500 acres near the Glenfinnan Viaduct, also seen in the second movie. And in April, hikers were seen clambering over the set and "running off with polystyrene rocks in their pockets," according to The Scotsman newspaper.

A remote island off the west coast of Scotland, Huskeiran, reportedly has been chosen as the set for the dreaded prison of Azkaban.

'Potter' tours

While you can create your own Harry Potter tours by car or train, many commercial tours are offered. Here is a sampling. Prices are per person, double occupancy; child prices are for those occupying the same room.

Beyond Boundaries Travel, 800-487-1136; www.beyondboundariestravel.com or www.cointl.com: Five-night escorted tours Aug. 1, Aug. 27, Oct. 29 and Dec. 30 (additional $90 for adults and $50 for kids for the New Year's Party) take in several sites and offer such interactive fun as a potions class and a dragon-slaying lesson. Land-only price: $1,699, $1,199 for teens, $999 for children; includes most meals.

Lynott Tours, 800-221-2474; www.lynotttours.com: Two self-drive, four-night itineraries are offered at $378 per person, $64 children, includes lodging, car and map. Lynott also offers day tours from London, including one that visits Oxford and Gloucester by ground vehicle for $112, $96 for children, or to Alnwick Castle via train for $144 and $115, respectively.

Back Roads Touring Co., 011-44-208-566-5312; www.backroadstouring.co.uk: Eight-night tours visit several Potter sites. Price: $1,845, $1,299 children 11 years or younger.
For a map of key locations created by the British Tourist Authority, contact Visit Britain at 877-899-8391 or 800-462-2748; www.visitbritain.com.